Colby Covington calls out 'cardio kickboxer' ex-champion as he eyes middleweight move
01/06/2025 04:59 AM
Colby Covington is not done with fighting after his latest setback.
'Chaos' suffered a third-round doctor's stoppage defeat due to a cut when he squared off against top welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley in the UFC's final fight of 2024.
Many fans thought the 36-year-old might call time on his career after falling to a third defeat in four fights – but he has since confirmed he intends to continue competing in 2025.
Colby Covington is even eyeing a move up to the UFC's middleweight division.
Colby Covington to 185lbs?
Covington has made a point of claiming he is a smaller welterweight.
'Chaos' has called out Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, and Charles Oliveira, who he thinks are the same size or bigger than him but cutting a ton of weight to compete at 155lbs.
While lightweight may seem like the more natural move, Covington is sticking to his guns and considering a move up to 185lbs for a run at the division's champion, Dricus du Plessis.
“Honestly, 185 is intriguing," he told Submission Radio.
"I think it would be kind of cool to go up there with the narrative like, 'Oh, this guy’s a small 170. He’s going to go up to 85 and take on an even bigger challenge'. So, there is a possibility. I’m always looking for the biggest and best fights. So, we’ll see.
"I’m not I’m not sure we’ll see what’s on the table, who’s hot at the time. And you know, I’m just always looking for the biggest and best fights. So, it doesn’t matter. Any weight class.
“I think I would go into like a heavy lifting program because I’ve always been about cardio and like high interval training, you know, HIIT training. I think I would take a little like couple months, like two, three, four months to just really get on a good weight regimen to put muscle on it. And, you know, you want to get power, and you want to be strong at that weight class.
"I know those guys are a lot slower. So that’s why guys that leave welterweight and they go to middleweight have so much success. You know, those guys like [Robert] Whittaker became champion, a guy like Sean Strickland who became a champion.
“They leave welterweight where these guys are fast, they’ve good cardio. These are the best athletes on the planet in this weight class. So, they go up and they have so much success at middleweight because the middleweights are unathletic. They’re slow."
Colby Covington breaks down Sean Strickland
Sean Strickland is set to face Dricus du Plessis for middleweight gold at UFC 312 next month.
The wacky American is undoubtedly one of the best 185lb fighters on the planet, but Covington believes he could beat the ex-champion with relative ease.
He added: “Sean Strickland fights. Always interesting.
"You know, he’s had his things to say about me in the past I don’t think he’s anything special.
"He’s got a jab, he’s got a front kick. But besides that, you shut those weapons down and he’s very limited.
"So, you know, he’s a cardio fighter. He’s just a cardio kickboxer, essentially. I don’t see any threats out of Sean Strickland. And it’s an entertaining fight that I might entertain in the future.”
